Elegant Design Quince LLC | Application Preview
Elegant Design Quince LLC is seeking government grant funding to enhance its business operations primarily focused on quinceañera, evening, and wedding gowns. The company does not manufacture its own gowns but sources them wholesale, with prices ranging from $300 to $800 each. The grant will help pay off outstanding balances to distributors, allowing for the purchase of new seasonal stock and better financial stability.
The business aims to recover from financial struggles exacerbated by the pandemic and intends to use part of the funding to settle IRS debts. Additionally, they seek to simplify financial management by using grants for credit cards that streamline their payments to various suppliers. This funding would also cover utility bills and allow Elegant Design Quince to hire a bookkeeper and a social media specialist to expand its client base.
Their future plans include reviving large fashion expos, which previously drew significant crowds, and introducing new inventory items, such as crown bouquets. They aim to improve their online presence by updating their website for e-commerce capabilities and virtual consultations.
The business argues for funding approval based on its unique specialization in quinceañera dresses, a crucial part of Latin culture, and a significant demand in their region. With the nearest competitor located 45 minutes away, Elegant Design Quince attracts clients from long distances, emphasizing its exceptional customer service and welcoming atmosphere.
In terms of competition, they recognize several local stores but believe their personalized approach and established network with related service providers give them a competitive edge. Their focus on creating a comforting experience for clients sets them apart from competitors that may not offer the same level of engagement and support.
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General Information
Business Registration Number: 892377267
Location: Newport news, VA, United States
Length of Operation: 1-5
Number of Employees: 1-10 Employees
Annual Gross Income: Less than $100k
Annual Gross Expense: Less than $100k
Open to Loans: YES
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Funding Usage
We don’t make our own products separate from a few items. Our major point of sale are our gowns, evening gowns, wedding gowns, especially our quinceañera gowns. We do not make these gowns, we purchase them wholesale from distributors. Each dress averages $300-$800. We carry approximately 80 quinceañera dresses and over 150 regular gowns. If granted this funding we’d be able to cover the balance due from each of our distributors, and we would be able to order the new stock for the new seasons of each company. Gowns are released twice a year, but we are struggling to cover the balances owed from previous seasons. As time change, so do the interests and aesthetics of our target market, that being girls and women ranging from 12-28 years of age. To keep up we need to order what’s new as the girls and women are very competitive. We also would like to use some of the grant money so that we may cancel out our balance due with the IRS and come back to a good standing. In addition we’d like to take credit cards out with the grant money as we’ve learned it’s best to pay our distributors with credit cards and only worry about the balance with our credit card as opposed to 5-6 different balances due. The money would also help catch us up on our utilities. As we start to be in good standing financially we would contract a bookkeeper and a social media specialist to create a greater stream of potential clients to our socials.
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Business Plan
In the beginning years of opening Elegant Design Quince, we hosted a large expo that seated close to 500 guests. We held one more expo right after that, but due to covid we haven’t had a show of that size since. We plan to continue to host these fashion shows/ expos yearly and recruit girls, boys, men, and women to model gowns from our distributors. The models would be new each year as a way to make people aware that we are present and use the opportunity to create a connection with the models that encourages them to buy from us. Not only the models, but the families and friends of the models, the free marketing we would receive as the friends and families of the models share the beautiful attire everyone wore. We also intend to grow by selling new products such as our crown bouquet that we’ve recently included to our inventory. Elegant Design Quince also hopes to create a larger online presence by updating our current website and changing it to be able to also purchase from our website and give future clients virtual consultations. With the grant money we hope to be able to hire a bookkeeper as well as someone to manage our social media posts. I have huge faith in our expos/fashion shows because they can soon turn into events that we have in the DMV area, down to north and South Carolina, not only Hampton roads. We strongly feel that we are worth investing in simply by the sheer lack of businesses like ours. Elegant Design specializes in quinceanera dresses, a Latin tradition to celebrate the coming of age of a girl turning 15 years old. The importance of a quinceanera is comparable to that of a wedding. There is a demand for quinceanera stores, the nearest one to ours is 45minutes away. Yet we are greeted by clients who drive 2-6 hours to visit our business, try on our dresses, experience our personalities, select our services, and buy our products. They continue to search for us because we are unique in the way we cater to our clients. Anyone can sell our products, but not just anyone can create an environment for the girls and for the families like we do. We create a comfortable environment, a familiar environment, almost like talking to family or close friends.
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Self Identified Competition
Our nearest competitor, 45mins away, is Anayel’s Creations Quinceanera and Formal. They sell quinceanera dresses, but have a limited selection and also have a small store connected to their business. It’s a small grocery store they also own. I respect the wining of multiple businesses, but the fact the grocery store is connected to their dress shop it feels as thought it kills the vibe for their clients. We consider CJKK Quinceanera and Bridal our top competitor, they are located in Richmond. The fact remains that we have clients that drive to us from Richmond, from DC, Woodbridge, and more, even though our clients have CJKK located closer to them, we were still chosen as our clients store of choice. We consider our next competitor as Gloria’s Quinceanera and Bridal boutique. We are not very knowledgeable in the services or level of products they offer, but as they are the next closest quinceanera store it is still reasonable to recognize them as a competitor. We are different from our competitors because of the attention to detail, the welcoming and familial environment we create, and the services we offer. We consider ourselves a one-stop shop, because we have created those relationships with various photographers, caterers, makeup artists, hair stylists, decorators, DJ’s, bands, and so many more. We are capable of giving our clients many options for them to choose from and we also recommend who we believe fits their needs best. Each package we offer is unique to each client.
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